Technology Integration

Fostering Collaboration in Student Projects

In the article Curriculum-Based Telecollaboration, Judi Harris offers 18 major ?activity structures? that teachers can use to help them design classroom projects.  Many teachers can probably agree with me that designing projects is one of the most challenging tasks of teaching.  To alleviate this challenge, Harris points out that there are many tools and projects available on the Web that teachers can employ, further suggesting the best uses of activity structures for those projects.  Harris identified three major categories of student action along with several activities in each category.

Interpersonal Exchange: Keypals, global classrooms, electronic appearances, telementoring, question-and-answer activities, and impersonations

1. Information and Analysis: Information exchanges, database creation, electronic publishing, telefieldtrips, and pooled data analysis
2. Problem Solving: Information searches, peer feedback activities, parallel problem solving, sequential creations, telepresent solving, and simulations

As Harris points out, collaborative learning can have a tremendous effect on students? engagement of student projects.  The activity structures presented above help students to use the Internet to accomplish curriculum-related learning goals.  When projects are created to be forward-thinking and multidisciplinary, students will actively focus more of their attention on the problem, placing more effort into solving it.  Having learned many useful activity structures, I plan to use at least of them as tools to enhance the projects that I assign to my students. 

I am always thinking of ways to make student projects more exciting, more engaging, and more meaningful to my students.  Even my most well thought out student assignments and projects still seem like they are missing depth.  Part of this may be due to me not being resourceful and using the Internet for collaborative learning tools.  I am guilty of wanting to do things myself, to create projects from scratch, to design my own grading rubrics.  The problem with this that I?ve found is that most of my time is spent trying to reinvent the wheel instead of modifying what already exists so that projects are more thought out.  The major lesson that I have learned in ECI 511 is to use the Web ? the primary source for a wealth of educational resources and tools!  Some of the projects that I assign have to be completed in such small amounts of time.  This is often due to the amount of objectives that have to be taught in a curriculum.  I can eliminate a lot of this with more focused planning and utilizing the resources that are readily available to me via the Web.

A few of the activities that I plan to use in my Accounting and Business & Electronic Communications classes are the interpersonal exchanges.  Blackboard has a discussion board feature that will allow my students to share ideas, discuss relevant topics, and to learn from each other.

Natasha Deese

Posted at 06:28PM Jun 20, 2006 by nvivey in General  |  Comments[0]

Sharing/Editing Information Through Podcasting

            It is not uncommon to see students walking through the hallways with iPods and MP3 players, listening to their favorite music.  Some students even try to enjoy their music during class-time and are successful when teachers are not wise enough to catch them.  What if teachers encouraged students to use their iPods in class and in school for educational purposes?  Well, podcasting is a fast and growing way to share point-of-need access to information and a cost-effective way to provide professional development to teachers.  According to The New Oxford American Dictionary, podcasts are digital recordings of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.  Not only can a podcast contain music, but also a mix of voice, music, sounds, video, and photos.  Users of podcasts are no longer required to go to the Web to obtain newly posted MP3 files to download, but, can now subscribe to podcast series to obtain information to use at any time.

The main reasons why podcasts were used in the libraries and classrooms of Edison Schools, Inc. were (1.) to retrieve on-demand information by accessing podcasts created by others, and (2.) to disseminate information by creating and sharing podcasts. The outcome of incorporating podcasts were that efforts to differentiate instruction were supported by this implementation and podcast served a viable alternative for delivering research and content to students who needed remedial or extended support.  Auditory learners are a population of students who can definitely benefit from podcasting.  Even though the article focused on librarians leading the way with innovative programming, new resources, and creative instruction, I too have an interest in incorporating these ideas.   I plan to ensure that I use the steps and recommendations from the article when I create a podcast for use by my students.  Among them included:

1. Gather the required hardware and software.

2. Decide on the content.

3. Practice.

4. Record the podcast.

5. Test the podcast.

6. Publish the podcast to share my information.

7. Promote the podcast.

8. Evaluate and learn from your mistakes.

All in all, I hope that incorporating this tool into my instruction will create and atmosphere that is exciting and engaging for my students.

All in all, I hope that incorporating this tool into my instruction will create and atmosphere that is exciting and engaging for my students.

Natasha Deese

Posted at 12:31PM Jun 20, 2006 by nvivey in General  |  Comments[0]

Strategies to use when creating a WebQuest for students.

            Through this course, I have learned the importance of challenging the minds? of my students.  To challenge someone means to provide them with questions and tasks that require them to tap into their higher-order thinking skills and makes them step outside of their comfort zone.  Simple questions and problems such as: multiple-choice questions without student lead discussions or writing a book report merely requiring students to paraphrase an author?s views are not the types of assignments meant to foster higher-order thinking.  In order to achieve the development of critical thinking skills, more student-centered inquiry based projects must be employed in classroom instruction. The majority of all inquiry oriented projects or activities require the use of the Web and a student?s ability to wisely decipher through the wealth of information found on the Web.  For me to ask my students to do this, entails me being able to teach them the necessary skills to do so.  A WebQuest is a wonderful tool to employ in the classroom that supports ?learners? thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Dodge)?.  A WebQuest is an inquiry-based activity that provides information, mostly from the Web, to learners so that their time is spent using information as opposed to looking for it.  It?s not the concept of using a WebQuest that causes me to want to implement it into my classrooms.  Rather, it is the focus on how to create resourceful WebQuests that will indeed provide structure for my students.

In the article Five Rules for Writing a Great WebQuest, by Bernie Dodge, he lists five pieces of advice (F.O.C.U.S) to consider when creating a WebQuest.  He further explains each of them and finds that when used correctly, the availability in the number of higher-quality WebQuests will increase for the educational use of teachers and students.

(1)   Find Great Sites. Look for sites that are readable and interesting to my students; accurate and reliable; and that contain sources rarely encountered in school.  Use web-based bookmark servers to store sites as well.

(2)   Orchestrate Your Learners and Resources.  When computer access is limited to all students, organize your activities so that whatever access is available, time at or away from computers is meaningful.

(3)   Challenge Your Learners to Think.  Think of alternative ways to frame what we ask learners to do with information. 

(4)   Use the Medium.  Realize that the Internet is not just a network of computers, but, a network of computers as well.  Instead of creating a WebQuests that only contains websites, try including human experts, parent volunteers, ePALS, and conversation tools as well.

(5)   Scaffold High Expectations.  Temporarily provide structure to help learners become more skilled, ultimately raising the bar.  Reception provides guidance; transformation requires students to transform knowledge gained into a new form; and production allows students to create new things with the help of templates (optional).

I have never used or created a WebQuest before.  After reading this article, I believe WebQuests can help my students to narrow the amount of time they normally spend searching for information to complete an assigned task.  This tool would focus their attention on relevant and reliable information, therefore providing more time to analyze and synthesize information.  There is one project that comes to mind when I think about the use of WebQuests in my classroom.  My Computer Applications I students are required to research careers in Informational Technology.  And once they have chosen a specific career, they prepare a report (or some other form of presentation) of that career.  I could actually create a WebQuest, while keeping Dodge?s five tips in mind, which would incorporate useful sites, interviews and expert knowledge from professionals for my students? use in preparing their reports/presentations.  My goal would be to provide guidance and structure for my students and to eliminate students? frustrations.

Natasha Deese

Posted at 08:02PM Jun 19, 2006 by nvivey in General  |  Comments[0]

Organizing Knowledge through Concept Mapping

            I would define a concept map as a web of information constructed by a learner to demonstrate their understanding of a topic.  The web consists of directional links that connect relationships between concepts and sub concepts by the use of propositions.  In essence, a concept map can be described as a graphic organizer.  Even though concept mapping can be done on paper, desktop computer software (such as Inspiration and Cmap Tools) can allow learners to construct more complex concept maps.  Such software enables dynamic linking and revision, and the inclusion of graphics.  Handheld computers can also be used to construct concept maps.  Advantages of handhelds include its portability, low cost, and manipulation capabilities. However, the complexity of concept maps created on handhelds is limited because of fewer sub concepts. 

Despite the software used to create concept maps, concept mapping can be a very engaging way to assist students in analyzing and processing information.  From the book Learning How To Learn, authors Novak and Gowin state that ?meaningful learning can occur in the process of identifying relationships, more meaningful learning can occur if a student has tools that support the development of more complex maps?.  It is for that reason that I plan to implement concept mapping into my instruction.  I hope that concept maps will give my students another means of expressing their knowledge and will cause them to retain information better.

I personally have found many benefits of creating concept maps in Professor Oliver?s ECI 511 course. First, concept maps made the readings more enjoyable for me. Creating concept maps caused me to elevate my level of thinking and challenged me to "construct" my own meanings. Concept mapping is an excellent instructional tool to use for students who have a visual learning style. A Learning Styles Inventory can be taken to determine how students learn best and the results can allow me to adapt my instruction to include tools such as concept maps that address the needs? of my students. I believe that concept maps will allow my students the opportunity to better visually represent their understanding of concepts and it will not be limiting them to the illustrations and diagrams that I provide for them. I have decided to use cmaps, particularly in Accounting I and II. Students will create a cmap for each unit that will ultimately be combined into a final project (similar to a portfolio in which they have to show proof that they have mastered Accounting principles).  I will definitely incorporate the suggestions from the article about how to design concept maps for meaningful learning.  (Otherwise, this instructional tool will just become another assignment for students to complete to fill in time).  Before requiring students to create a concept, I will deliver a mini lesson on the purposes and benefits of concept maps and provide students with examples.  I intend to walk through developing a concept maps with the class first; initially, providing students with words to build on.  The following are rules that I will enforce while utilizing concept mapping taken from ?What a Concept? by Regina and Jeff Royer?s article: (1) Be sure that the concept maps are hierarchical ? naming and using links to relate concepts, (2) Use open-ended concept maps to encourage students to create their own understanding of concepts, and (3) Allow revision of concept maps after peer reviews or small group discussions.

I personally have found many benefits of creating concept maps in Professor Oliver?s ECI 511 course. First, concept maps made the readings more enjoyable for me. Creating concept maps caused me to elevate my level of thinking and challenged me to "construct" my own meanings. Concept mapping is an excellent instructional tool to use for students who have a visual learning style. A Learning Styles Inventory can be taken to determine how students learn best and the results can allow me to adapt my instruction to include tools such as concept maps that address the needs? of my students. I believe that concept maps will allow my students the opportunity to better visually represent their understanding of concepts and it will not be limiting them to the illustrations and diagrams that I provide for them. I have decided to use cmaps, particularly in Accounting I and II. Students will create a cmap for each unit that will ultimately be combined into a final project (similar to a portfolio in which they have to show proof that they have mastered Accounting principles).  I will definitely incorporate the suggestions from the article about how to design concept maps for meaningful learning.  (Otherwise, this instructional tool will just become another assignment for students to complete to fill in time).  Before requiring students to create a concept, I will deliver a mini lesson on the purposes and benefits of concept maps and provide students with examples.  I intend to walk through developing a concept maps with the class first; initially, providing students with words to build on.  The following are rules that I will enforce while utilizing concept mapping taken from ?What a Concept? by Regina and Jeff Royer?s article: (1) Be sure that the concept maps are hierarchical ? naming and using links to relate concepts, (2) Use open-ended concept maps to encourage students to create their own understanding of concepts, and (3) Allow revision of concept maps after peer reviews or small group discussions.

Natasha Deese

Posted at 02:42PM Jun 19, 2006 by nvivey in General  |  Comments[1]

Video Production - Increasing Awareness of Student Organizations

   In the article entitled Filming Compassion by Janet Bremer and Marilyn Clark, students used video production to promote nonprofit agencies as a part of their service project requirements.  Students combined the art of text, graphics, sound, and pictures to produce a video display of nonprofit organizations such as community churches, homeless centers, and private inner-city schools.  The entire process began when students visited their assigned organization to gather ideas and to find out what the needs of the organization were and how the video would serve the organization.  Over the course of a grading period, students gathered more and more data and edited their videos using software such as Final Cut 4.  The final products were professional quality video productions promoting worthy organizations, leaving students with a great sense of pride.

The use of video production as it was used in Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy High School can benefit students in two ways (1) fulfillment of service project requirements and (2) the opportunity to exhibit their video production skills while learning about meaningful organizations.  The article proves that video production can successfully be created for nonprofit organizations within a community, so why can?t video production be created to promote and increase the awareness of the many positive student organizations within the school?  Many of the problems encountered with this project included: transportation to and from the nonprofit sites, the lack of equipment available at most nonprofit organizations, and the lack of staff to supervise student videographers.  If students are required to shoot and create videos of student organizations at their school, many of those limitations can be eliminated.  The major advantage that I see for this possibility is the increased student engagement and innovation because of their actual involvement and being a part of that organization.

The use of video production as it was used in Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy High School can benefit students in two ways (1) fulfillment of service project requirements and (2) the opportunity to exhibit their video production skills while learning about meaningful organizations.  The article proves that video production can successfully be created for nonprofit organizations within a community, so why can?t video production be created to promote and increase the awareness of the many positive student organizations within the school?  Many of the problems encountered with this project included: transportation to and from the nonprofit sites, the lack of equipment available at most nonprofit organizations, and the lack of staff to supervise student videographers.  If students are required to shoot and create videos of student organizations at their school, many of those limitations can be eliminated.  The major advantage that I see for this possibility is the increased student engagement and innovation because of their actual involvement and being a part of that organization.

 I plan to use video production in combination with other multimedia forms to promote in particular, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).  FBLA is a national student organization for students enrolled in Business courses.  I am the advisor of William G. Enloe High School?s local FBLA chapter.  FBLA provides students with opportunities to develop character and strengthen confidence; encourages scholarship and useful citizenship; and encourages the development of individual projects that contribute to the improvement of home, business, and community.  For the final project in my Business and Electronic Communications classes, I plan to incorporate a cumulative video production for the promotion and increased awareness of FBLA.  The majority of my students become active members of our chapter and would have access to shoot video of conferences, competitions, community service projects, and chapter meetings.  My classes will be divided into production teams of four to five students.   I will monitor and assess each team?s progress throughout the process by using rubrics and peer reviews of each team member?s contribution.  I really appreciate the rubric that was provided in this article.  The main components of the rubric included: script/storyboarding, introduction, video editing, pace, teamwork, and overall effectiveness of the video.  Unlike many of the projects that I am guilty of assigning my students, their video productions will be used in following years and shown at FBLA interest meetings and displayed on our school news.  The ultimate objective will be to recruit more students to become a part of an excellent student organization that promotes civic and personal responsibilities - FBLA.

 I plan to use video production in combination with other multimedia forms to promote in particular, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).  FBLA is a national student organization for students enrolled in Business courses.  I am the advisor of William G. Enloe High School?s local FBLA chapter.  FBLA provides students with opportunities to develop character and strengthen confidence; encourages scholarship and useful citizenship; and encourages the development of individual projects that contribute to the improvement of home, business, and community.  For the final project in my Business and Electronic Communications classes, I plan to incorporate a cumulative video production for the promotion and increased awareness of FBLA.  The majority of my students become active members of our chapter and would have access to shoot video of conferences, competitions, community service projects, and chapter meetings.  My classes will be divided into production teams of four to five students.   I will monitor and assess each team?s progress throughout the process by using rubrics and peer reviews of each team member?s contribution.  I really appreciate the rubric that was provided in this article.  The main components of the rubric included: script/storyboarding, introduction, video editing, pace, teamwork, and overall effectiveness of the video.  Unlike many of the projects that I am guilty of assigning my students, their video productions will be used in following years and shown at FBLA interest meetings and displayed on our school news.  The ultimate objective will be to recruit more students to become a part of an excellent student organization that promotes civic and personal responsibilities - FBLA.

Natasha Deese

Posted at 07:35PM Jun 18, 2006 by nvivey in General  |  Comments[0]

Electronic Response Systems

     Electronic Response Systems are not particularly foreign to the instructional setting.  Since the 1960s, this hardware has been used in many college lecture halls.  Electronic Response Systems can simply be described as a buzzer (without the sound) or a stimulus-response device.  Its early use merely recorded answers from the students in a classroom and other systems provided a count of the total number of responses to every question posed by the teacher.  The most recent versions are wireless, portable and even carry the ability to graph and project histograms of entire classrooms? responses.  Despite the changes in the design of electronic response systems, the focus behind their use remains unchanged ? to provide immediate feedback to multiple-choice questions and inform the instructor of student understanding.

The major finding in research conducted in the 1960s and 1970s indicate no significant correlation between student academic achievement and a stimulus-response system.  Along with that finding are a few positive attributes from more recent research.  Among them include: an increase of attentiveness and personal understanding along with increased student discussion.  To avoid the initial downfall of early studies, I plan to place more emphasis on my pedagogical practice when using classroom response systems.  As stated in the Judson article, an electronic response system does not come prepackaged with interactive engagement. I believe that is important to keep in mind for all software and hardware that a teacher uses in his/her classroom.  It will primarily be my method and delivery of instruction, with the use of a response system as simply an aid, which will promote the student academic achievement that was missing in early use of electronic response systems.

There are two main reasons why I want and plan to implement the use of classroom response systems. (1) So that I am aware of which students are not fully grasping concepts presented in class.  If I am more aware of these individual students, then I can quickly adapt my instruction to accommodate their needs, to further explain, demonstrate, and affirm what it is that they are missing.  Too many students are left to fall between the cracks when their lack of understanding is not addressed, and addressed immediately.  (2) So that I can encourage and foster productive student discussion.  An electronic response system has the potential to eliminate the unnecessary chattering/ gossiping amongst students that occur in nearly all classrooms.  That excessive talking can be redirected in meaningful discussion of material being presented during a lecture.  I also believe that stimulus-response devices will prove to be particularly useful in my Accounting classes.  Despite many misconceptions that Accounting is about nothing but equations and preparing financial statements, my students have to be knowledgeable of many theory-based concepts and business principles in order to be able to analyze transactions and events.  The implementation of electronic response systems can make learning those concepts more engaging.  For example, I plan to divide my class into small groups during random class lectures.  Periodically, I will pose a multiple-choice question to the entire class. Rather than simply accepting a response of A, B, C, or D and proceeding to the next, each group will be required to have discussed their response with each group member before ?buzzing in?. The discussion of their response before answering and not just afterward hearing everyone?s responses will require a consensus ? encouraging the group members of every group to re-teach material to each other.  After sufficient time of allowing the groups to decide on their answer, I will randomly choose one person to give an explanation for why their group chose their response.  My random selection of one student to respond will avoid one or two students from answering all of the time and most importantly, will cause each group to work more closely to ensure that ALL group members have a clear understanding.  Stronger students will have the challenge of teaching what they know to the weaker students, and the weaker students will have the opportunity to have material presented to them again for a deeper understanding.  They will also have to be able to tell me why they chose to eliminate the other three possible answers.  My goal is that the aid of electronic response systems in the context in which I plan to use them will ultimately increase student academic achievement, not just their attentiveness.

Natasha Deese

Posted at 07:37PM Jun 16, 2006 by nvivey in General  |  Comments[0]

It is important for educators to integrate technology.

Every facet of life now relies on some form of technology. The once popular but now outdated typewriter has been replaced with new hardware and software. Educators have to stay abreast of technological growth in order to be able to challenge students' minds. Technology integration has to begin in the school systems so that our students are equipt to perform in the real world. However, it is not uncommon for students to know more about technology than their teachers.  Having said that, it is even more crucial that educators be able to offer the students more than they already know, whether it is a new use of existing technology or how to apply what they know to solving problems.  This blog has been created for educators to share their experiences with integrating technology in the classroom so that it is meaningful in supporting the curriculum.

Natasha Deese

Posted at 07:32AM May 29, 2006 by nvivey in General  |  Comments[12]